The Grand Orient of Poland (

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

: ''Wielki Wschód Polski'') is a

Masonic Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

grand lodge A Grand Lodge, also called Grand Orient, Obedience, or by another similar title, is a name for the overarching governing body of a fraternal or other similarly organized group in a given area, usually a city, state, or country. In Freemasonry A ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. It is a member of the European Masonic Association (EMA/AME), in the

continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' (album), an album by Saint Etienne * Continen ...

or liberal branch of Freemasonry. Grand Orient of Poland was established on February 26, 1784 on the basis of a patent granted by the

Grand Orient of France The Grand Orient de France (, abbr. GODF) is the oldest and largest of several Freemasonic organizations based in France and is the oldest in Continental Europe (as it was formed out of an older Grand Lodge of France in 1773, and briefly absorbe ...

. In its first phase of his functioning, it was active until the beginning of the 19th century, when

Freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

in the Polish lands occupied by

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

(under Russian partition) at that time was forbidden by the Russian

Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

. At the beginning of the twentieth century, there were attempts to revive it by two progressive lodges of the Grand Orient of France operating in eastern Poland, but

actually did it only in 1990 when its Lodge Victor Schoelcher set up the Polish Lodge "Liberty Restored" (La Liberté Recouvrée), which then, in 1997 became the main lodge of the restored Grand Orient of Poland. At that time the

gave it a renewed founding patent and new patents for the

French Rite The French Rite (French: ''Rite français'') is one of the oldest List of Masonic rites, masonic rites, and the most widely practiced in France and Belgium. It is the direct heir and one of the best preserved ritual of speculative masonry as pract ...

, the

Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry is a rite within the broader context of Freemasonry. It is the most widely practiced Rite in the world. In some parts of the world, and in the Droit Humain, it is a concordant body and ov ...

, and the Scottish Rectified Rite. The Grand Orient of Poland is registered as an association in the provincial court in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

on November 14, 1997 (KRS no. 0000120900, reference number WA.XII NS-REJ.KRS / 87318/16/404). The first grandmaster of the reconstructed Grand Orient of Poland was the internationally known Polish philosopher and writer Andrzej Nowicki. It is different from the Polish National Grand Lodge (''Wielka Loża Narodowa Polski''). The Grand Orient of Poland should also not be confused with so-called "Grand Orient of the Republic of Poland" - an unofficial association established in unclear circumstances on 25 February 2017.

Lodges of the Grand Orient of Poland

* ''Wolność Przywrócona'' ('Restored Liberty') (

) * ''Galileusz'' (

Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz is a city in northern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Kuyavia. Straddling the confluence of the Vistula River and its bank (geography), left-bank tributary, the Brda (river), Brda, the strategic location of Byd ...

) * ''Cezary Leżeński'' (

) * ''Moria'' (

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

) * ''Witelon'' (a travelling lodge) * ''Atanor'' (

) * ''Abraxas under the Light of Sirius'' (

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

) * ''

Universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents. It comprises all of existence, any fundamental interaction, physical process and physical constant, and therefore all forms of matter and energy, and the structures they form, from s ...

'' (English speaking lodge) (

) *''Astrolabium'' (

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

) *''Synergy'' (

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

) *''Falcon and Owl'' (

) *''Pyramid of North'' (

Toruń Toruń is a city on the Vistula River in north-central Poland and a World Heritage Sites of Poland, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its population was 196,935 as of December 2021. Previously, it was the capital of the Toruń Voivodeship (1975–199 ...

)

International Cooperation

Based on mutual agreements of friendship and cooperation, the Grand Orient of Poland cooperates internationally with following organisations and Orders: #

# Grand Orient of Switzerland # Grand Lodge of Italy # Grand Orient of Romania # Grand Orient of Ireland # Grand Lodge Lemuria (Mauritius) # Traditional Masonic Order - Mauritius # Grand Orient of Slovenia # International Masonic Order DELPHI - Greece #

Grand Orient of Belgium The Grand Orient of Belgium (, ; or G.O.B.) is a Belgian cupola of masonic lodges which is only accessible for men, and works in the basic three symbolic degrees of freemasonry. History The Grand Orient of Belgium was founded in 1833, three y ...

# Grand National Lodge of Croatia # Grande Loge Féminine de France # Symbolic Grand Lodge of Spain # Grand Orient of Bulgaria # Grand Orient of Austria # Grand Orient of Estonia # Grande Loja Feminina de Portugal # Grande Loge Indépendante et Souveraine des Rites Unis The Grand Orient of Poland is also represented in international organisations: # European Masonic Alliance (founding member) # Adogmatic Association Central and Eastern Europe # Universal League of Freemasons

References

Bibliography

External links

Official webpage of the Grand Orient of Poland

Official Facebook page of the Grand Orient of Poland
*
About the Grand Orient of Poland, webpage of the Lodge Galileusz
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poland Freemasonry in Poland